I thought I’d dedicate this article to notes that my friend has been sending me from Bangkok. She has been there since the beginning of the bloody siege of the city that has now turned into a war zone as Thai military forces cracked down on anti-government protesters. She is not a journalist but has friends in the city with whom she is very close, and her words reflect anguish for a country that would never be the same again.
Each day that passed her messages took on a more urgent tone. It is very clear which side she is on. I asked her if I could share her thoughts and feelings as she witnesses the city burn and the conflict escalate.
‘Daylight breaks on Day 4 of Bangkok Under Siege,’ she wrote last Sunday. ‘My hands shake as I type this – not from fear for my safety as fighting rages on around me but from rage at the Thai media, which is filled with references to the protests as rebellion that must be suppressed swiftly and decisively.
There is about as much press freedom and independent thought now in this world class and painfully beautiful capital as in Burma. Thousands of websites have been shut down. Print media parrot the government line. And the TV is filled with nausea-inducing imagery of patriotic Thai soldiers saving the nation while melodramatic music plays in the background. This then contrasted with images of rioting protesters, the barbarians at the gate who pose an existential threat to the Thai state and must be stopped at all costs.
The Oxford educated Prime Minister… went on TV last night for the first time since the crackdown to say ‘there’s no turning back’ from the military operation. I sit stunned and helpless, wondering how such brilliant minds cannot see the implications of their actions. If this is the only way forward, Mr Abhisit, the Thai people may soon find there’s no turning back from a far broader and more devastating conflict – one that would haunt the nation for generations to come.’
My friend attached a photo of the protesters who got shot at. One was killed, she wrote, and the others got injured when trying to help. The soldiers must collect and hide the dead. She also sent a picture of an armed soldier and sniper peering down from a roof. ‘There are your ‘red terrorists’ lying dead in the street. And the military which, according to the government, is not carrying ‘war weapons’ and only shooting live ammunition if in self-defence. In self-defence from the rooftops of buildings with high velocity sniper rifles? This is the middle of Bangkok people.’
An hour later she updated, ‘the Prime Minister has announced that most of those killed were the victims of ‘terrorist attacks’ or red protesters that had turned upon on each other. This defies every fact on the ground and is beyond shameful.’
Another photo showed thick black smoke amidst the high-rise buildings in Bangkok. ‘The huge column of smoke is from my balcony. It’s an entirely different section of Bangkok than the protest site for the last two months. Many sections of Bangkok now burning, as reds set up barricades and burn tires to keep military at bay. This is now an uprising.’
Then the tone of her message took on a note of appeal. ‘Indonesians need to start talking about this,’ she wrote. They need to have a voice and say no to this outrageous state violence against the Thai people. This is a fundamentally undemocratic state controlled by the military monarchy and elite who support them, and they will kill many people to maintain their power and privileges’.
A couple of days of tense standoff that claimed tens of lives later, she wrote on Wednesday, ‘de facto (Red Shirt) leader Natthawut brings leaders to police to surrender to save lives. In an emotional address to supporters still at the protest, he says too many have died today and begs them to go home to save themselves. Many scream and yell and refuse to leave. He tells them today is not the victory for democracy. Today they lose the battle. But history is on their side and they will win the war. He holds back tears and tells his people his heart will be with them always, and though they be born slaves, they will one day see justice.
Troops have closed in on the stage. Huge columns of smoke flood the sky. Major burning now at and/or around the protest site. Massive columns of smoke flood the sky. The government insisted on complete suppression today. This is the end of the beginning of the struggle - and the beginning of the end of Thailand as we knew it.
Even until now army not able to contain the main protest venue. One thousand women and children protesters have taken refuge inside a temple adjacent to what was the protest stage. Military shooting on one side, tall buildings - specifically central world - burning on the other. They refuse to leave as they fear being shot or swept up by the military, which is still battling other protesters. But central world fire rages next to them. It is a calamity in the making. Virtual news blackout here means no reporting. I only know because I sit next to the Governor, who is pleading with the powers that be to let his municipal officials in to evacuate those trapped.’
I told her to try and get out of Bangkok. She however, refuses to leave her friends and the city she loves.
(Desi Anwar: First published in The Jakarta Globe)
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